It was recently announced today that C-ute member, Arihara Kanna is no longer with in the holds of H!P. After a long and lengthy absence from the group and her lack of participations in the groups last two singles, this was only bound to happen. Originally, she was believed to only be absent for a short time due to foot bunions. This is a very sad end to someone who seemed to be going far in the world H!P. Did her past scandal(s) have anything to do with her leaving? We’ll never know…

Now on to the opinions portion of this article.

I was never really a big fan of Kanna since the beginning of C-ute. However after about Namida no Iro, My opinions on her slowly began to move towards the more favorable side of the scale. The most impressve thing about her was that she was finally coming into her own and she goes and takes a 4-month absence from the world. I really feel that this may actually be useful to her in someway and wish her all the best. If in ten years, we see hr again as a solo singer, I wouldn’t be susprised. Although, the opposite is the more likely as with all those who leave H!P at a young age. I will miss you, Kanna, and your great cover of I Wish.  

 

01. Nagisa no Sinbad 6/10

While moments of greatness do occurs during this opening song(think “anata wa sexy” parts), most of the time this song just seems so unimpressive in many ways. The vocals all around aren’t the best from any member, even Ai-chan. Though Risa’s low range is pretty impressive.This may be something that will be better live, but I’ll have to wait and see.

02.Dou ni Tomaranai 8/10

This song is much better than the first one, even Sayu sounds agreeable which is a great improvment from the the first one. The track itself suits MM’s style very well, in my opinion. The only thing that really ruined it for me was the weird music breaks all over…

03. Izakaya 9/10

The best way to describe this song is slow and sweet.  Ai-chan was wonderful, her vocals sound really refined and she blends with Itsuki Hiroshi (the male vocalist) very well. A great Ballad for the middle of the album…works really well.
04. Pepper Keibu (Album Version) 10/10

I’m gonna skip this one as I reviewed the single below…

05. Shiroi Chou no Samba 10/10

Another great song that has just the right blend of sweet and happy. Lin-Lin and Jun-Jun sound fanstatic on this track which is something I thought I’d never say about those two. In this past year and a half since they’ve joined they really just made me love them even more. This is a great song to follow the previous ballad. Has to be my favorite off this album.

06. Seishun Jidai 9.5/10

What an opening statement this song has! The vocals in tis song seem to have some of the most emotion I’ve heard in MM for a while. It really was a great track for everyone. Everyone’s solos went really well. Reina really didn’t bug me at all in this song. I really jsut feel most of the time she tries too hard and in this one it seems she was just letting loose a little…

07.Ringo Satsujin Jiken 7/10

Wonderful Tropical feeling in this song. It also shows a lot of variety in the girls’s vocal styles. The only problem that I really have with this song is the “funi” parts. Also after a while it begins to get a little too repetive for me and I loose interest. Also Sayu suddenly got worse from the last couple of songs…
08. Romance (Album Version) 9/10

This is another i’m going to skip because of the review of PK single below…

09. Machi no Akari 8/10

Not the kind of song that immedently  makes you fall in love with it but after a few listens you learn to love it. The vocals in this song are very silky from both Ai-chan and Gaki-san. They really prove that they are the best this group has to offer. The entire 5th Gen was absolutely amazing…

10. Koi no Dial 6700 10/10

I like the party-feel of this track. It is really upbeat and fun to listen to.LinLin once again does a wonderful job. I really think that she will move up on my rankings after this album. Wow…even Koharu blends with the rest of the group. One I would love to see live.

11. Pin Pon Pan Taisou 9/10

I love the music entrance in this song, very charismatic and fun. The perfect track to follow Koi no Dial 6670. It sounds a lot like an anime song. The only annoying part is the counting and talking towards the middle. Koaru is the lead in this song and it really suits her well. Not my favorite but close enough…

12. Watashi no Aoi Tori 10/10

This song is very sweet and fluffy, like cloud pudding. I love the fact that it feels as if everyone is wispering their lines right in your ears. A great way to follow all those hyper songs before it. I really thing that this is one of the better ballads on the album. Sayu once again is very pleaseable…I really enjoyed this song immensely.

13.Johnnie e no Dengon 10+/10

A Gaki-san solo almost. It really suits her range quite well. Her voice sounds very full and sweet all at the same time. It really proves that she deserves to be solo. I would love to see her with a few more solos in the future.

14.UFO /10

A great ending track, all in all. Very upbeat compared to the last few which were a lot slower. I really loved the way the voices blended in this track. Although the Chorus really lacked something for me…

Overall 9.2/10

Wow! This has to have some of the best songs from this lineup. Lin Lin, JUn Jun, and Sayu has ceased to annoy me, Reina stopped trying so hard to be amazing, and Koharu moved up my list.   It is a great cd with some amazing vocals. I love how this cd features the little people in MM, though I would have liked to hear Eri or Aika both of which are completely hidden…

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v583980Y4EQmSgB

*sorry just follow the link*

The Best of 2008

Best Group Single

High-King-C/C(Cinderella/Complex) has to be the best in my opinion due to the sheer genius behind this group. Take 2 well known MM members, add a dash of both Berryz and °C-ute, and mix with one egg, What do you get? A perfect blend of voices that hasn’t been seen by the likes of H!P since the LOVE MACHINE era of Morning Musume. It was also one of the most clever promotion techniques I’ve seen.

Best Soloist Single

the best soloist single for me had to be Screen by Natsumi Abe. As one of my favorite members since I first discovered MM 8 years ago(wow…it’s been a while), Nacchi never ceases to amaze me with how much passion she puts behind everything.

Best Group Album

Ongaku Gatas-1st Goodsal by far in my opinion. The members of the group who were involved in this album, had great chemistry and you could tell easily by watching them live. There was alot of great singers who blend together amazing well and I don’t think that any other group in H!P can blend as well as they do…

Best Soloist Album

Kirarin to Fuyu-Koharu Kusumi. She’s really improved lately in her singing, though she may never be one of my favorites. But if she keeps this improvement up…it could happen.

Best PV

Screen is my favorite PV of this year. Nacchi looks wonderful and it fits the song amazingly.

Group With Best Overall Releases

°C-ute. I haven’t hated on single things they’ve released this year…

Best New Group (debuted in 2008)

High-King. If only they weren’t a promotional group.

Best New Soloist (debuted in 2008)

Mano Erina was my favorite Ongaku member (next to Charmy) and even though the quality of her voice has gone down (due to too the cuteness she’s trying) She still has been doing pretty well for herself.

Best Established Group (did not debut in 2008)

I know had I been asked this question last year, I would have said berryz but now I really do believe it to be °C-ute.

Best Established Soloist (did not debut in 2008)

Nacchi for multiple reasons…

Best Photobook

Michishige Sayumi-Love Letter. She never ceases to amaze me at how beautiful she actually is…

Hottest Idol of 2008

I’m going to have to go for Michishige Sayumi.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Worsts of 2008

Worst Group Single

Berryz Koubou-Dschinghis Khan Remix=WTF was Tsunku thinking…

Worst Soloist Single

Fujimoto Miki-Okitegami

Now I love Miki to death but this song sounds as if it is very heartless.

Worst PV

Once again DK Remix v.1&2 Take the cake…

Worst Vocalist of 2008

Now, Now Risako you are cute but please don’t open your mouth to sing again…(unless it involves Sayu)

Least Attractive Girl of 2008

Ogawa Mana-an afro are you serious?

Pepper Keibu 10/10

Morning Musume’s 37th single is a cover of Pink Lady’s 1st single making this the second cover song the group has ever released as a sinlge. With the great update of this classic you can’t help but love it. The lines seem to be much more equal than Resonant Blue with Ai’s out of body strength in her voice and Reina’s strong vocals heard prominantly. After the first 40 seconds or so, you begin to hear the magic that makes me love this track so much. The way they presented this song is pure brilliance. Keeping with the original tune then using am modern synth makes it sound like it could have been released as an original today as well as in the early ’70′s. The classic dance break that is included with every MM song since the beginning of time only seems to make it better.

Romance 9/10

Another cover of a song from the same era originally by Iwasaki Hiromi. This is a great B-side but judt doesn’t seem to complete this single in the least. It makes the whole single seem to be broken into two seperate parts. Everything was beautifully done regardless of the fact that it isn’t the best piece for the puzzle. Taking this song sperate, I’d have to say it is one of the better songs vocally I’ve heard from the current line-up in a while especially since it’s a B-side. My favorite song fro this single by far…

I know that alot of you haven’t hear from me in a over a year…sorry. I’m very bad at updating things sometimes. Besides being way behind in the H!P world, I have also let a lot of my old readers down. SORRY! I’ll try harder this time. For first time readers, welcome! for everyone else, Welcome back! I have decided to go back to my old style and name for certain nogilistic purposes. I really hope you enjoy yourselves and remember you can never have too many H!P smoothies!

~Kimberly

1. The name will be changed to H!P wonderland.

2. This will now be moved to VoX! Link: hpobession.vox.com

Cheers!

Scratch that! Back to good ol’ WordPress!

I would just like to take a moment to show my support for my favorite Momusu, Takahashi Ai. I know that there has been a lot of things that have been said against her recently and that makes me sad to read all of those comments. All I have to say is how can you hate someone for decisions they don’t even make(such as screen time).  Lets just celebrate the greatness that is Takahashi Ai, A 21-year old girl who loves her job with all her heart.

A few requirements:

• Must have  smoothie(s)
• Must be 790 x 150 pixels in size
• Text must say: H!P Smoothies are yummy!

Other than that go crazy! I’ll announce the winner in 2 weeks!

Good Luck!

]

 All I have to say is how much I love this single completely. I remember when I first heard it, I was completely unimpressed completely. I found it to be a very blah-ish song,  to tell you the truth, after about the first 30 seconds. After watching the music video however my mind was completely changed. Its such a wonderful song. It really drew me and made me a fan of MM again just when I began to give up due to ONSA. I have been really disappointed in MM since Yossi left them.   

I must admit I HATED Lin-Lin in ONSA completely. I don’t know what it was but something about her seemed to bug me in the PV a lot. After watching Mikan, I thinking i’m slowly warming up to her. She seems to be the first one in a while to come in and have a REAL personality which shone in the PV immensely Though I still have a big indifference when it coms to Jun-Jun…Maybe in time it will change.

Another person this PV has caused me to like more is Risa. She has always been a person who I really haven’t taken much notice to at all. She was just there to me. Now she is really starting to grow on me. I’m being to see what a great person she has always been, Happy and friendly. Just what is needed for this song.

I really do love Mikan…Maybe even more than “I Wish”, my favorite MM song of all time at least for now.